Tales of the Complex, Part I

And so it begins:

My very first* home away from home began with an extensive apartment search. I had only a few set criteria I was looking for in a place:

• cheap
• close to campus

I found an apartment complex that fit this description. I signed a contract. I moved in.

I spent the next year polishing my "shy and quiet" reputation. (Making new friends is not second nature to me...or third...or fourth...etc)

I had three exceptionally nice roommates, but since they were all seniors, that meant I had to start all over again with new ones the next year.

It turns out I got lucky again. Only this time, I decided to shuck the shell and be outgoing.

These are the three winners I got:

Julie, Linda, Lindsay, me

I broke the ice by telling embarrassing stories from my (non-existent) love life.
Somewhere along the way, they decided to like me. I don't know how I pulled that one off.

The four of us became something of a phenomenon over the next year (or so I like to tell myself). We did a lot of interesting things, anyway.

I instituted a bit of bonding by starting a "quote board" which hung in our tiny dining room. On this white stretch of paper, we would write quotes, silly sayings, or things that made us happy/sad/angry/emotional on any level. I (unfortunately) saved only one of these - an early incarnation. Most of this series will draw from certain elements fantastic enough to make it onto the quote board.

While many of these ramblings will make no sense to the average individual (indeed, they don't make much sense to this less-than-average individual), I have discovered a few gems that may shine some light on my college self.

The first may be noted in the proliferation of notes regarding a certain classic book-turned-movie. Yes, friends, I had an obsession with Lord of the Rings (as was previously noted here). My poor roommates were bombarded with my paraphernalia and frequent references. I had recently acquired a "crystal" goblet from a fast food chain with characters from the movie carved upon it. It was a prized possession of mine. And it made its appearance on this particular quote board quite frequently.

This, of course, does not cover the breadth and depth of this preoccupation, which will only be realized by further posts. It is with great pride, however, that I admit to, not only a fascination with this movie, but a frightening adoration for one particular character: Legolas the elf. I shudder as I recall the foolishness with which I worshiped his image. This insanity I fed with frequent "Leggy breaks." These breaks occurred when I would be overwhelmed by the intensity of my studies (ie: often). I would pause to seek certain parts of this DVD where I could gaze on the face of The Elf. My roommates humored me and even on occasion would watch with me. Little did they suspect this was just the tip of the iceberg of my weirdness.

Another thing worthy of note from this quote board is the somewhat cryptic bright blue acronym "PFUL's." To further enlighten those of you not fortunate enough to have heard of this exceedingly catchy and popular phrase, PFUL stands for Potential For Undying Love. This tag was often used in conversations thusly:

[on returning from a date, Roommate A asks Roommate B]
Was he a PFUL?
[Whereupon Roommate B responds by an affirmative or negative action, depending on the situation]

Ah, the proliferation of strange sayings that came out of this fruitful year. Stay tuned for further episodes of Tales of the Complex.

*I lived in a duplex one block from my parents during the summer just out of high school*